The controversial Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre in Lanarkshire is to be closed, the Home Office has announced.

The centre, near Strathaven, is set to close towards the end of 2017.

The Home Office said it would look to build a new short-term holding facility near Glasgow Airport.

Dungavel opened in 2001 and can hold up to 249 detainees. It is the only such centre in Scotland and has been the subject of numerous protests, which branded the site "racist and inhumane".

What is Dungavel?

The Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre, which is housed around a 19th-century hunting lodge and summer retreat of the Duke of Hamilton, is a UK government facility for detaining refugees and failed asylum seekers prior to deportation.

Why is it controversial?

The conditions at the detention centre are often criticised by campaigners, with the detainees claiming they are treated like prisoners. There is also concern about the length of time people can be detained at the centre. For many years there were protests about children being detained at Dungavel but this was stopped in 2010.

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UK Immigration Minister Robert Goodwill said: "We keep our detention estate under constant review to ensure we have the right resources in the right places.

"The new short-term holding facility would provide easy access to London airports, from where most removals take place, meaning those with no right to be in the UK can be removed with less delay.

"Closing Dungavel immigration removal centre as a consequence fits with that approach and will result in a significant saving for the public purse."

The Home Office said the "vast majority" of stays there would be for less than a week.

The Scottish government has welcomed the closure of Dungavel but questioned the purpose of the new facility in Renfrewshire.

Communities Secretary Angela Constance said: "The Scottish government has long campaigned for the replacement of Dungavel with a more humane system, however, by introducing a rapid removal facility there is a real risk that people who have been living in Scotland will either have their opportunities to challenge their deportation restricted or be taken to immigration removal centres far away from their families, friends and legal representation.

"This move could make it considerably more difficult for them to pursue their cases and have serious impacts on their mental health.

"We will be seeking urgent clarification from the UK government on their proposals and guarantees around the way in which asylum seekers based in Scotland facing deportation will be treated."

Dungavel, in South Lanarkshire, which is operated under contract to the Home Office by GEO Group Ltd, has been the subject of dozens of protests since it opened and has drawn widespread criticism from politicians and immigration campaigners.

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Media captionPinar Aksu says her experiences at Dungavel turned her into a campaigner

He urged the Scottish government to seek guarantees that there will be "rigorous and independent accountability" of the new short-term facility.

Robina Qureshi, director of the refugee and migrant homelessness charity Positive Action in Housing, said: "We say good riddance to Dungavel, which was nothing more than a scar imposed by the Westminster government on Scottish soil."

She added: "We remain concerned about what happens next. A short-term holding facility will be built at Glasgow airport making it easier to remove people to London airports from where most removals take place.

"It will be harder for lawyers and support networks to organise appeals at the eleventh hour."